Michelle Obama made her final appearance on The Tonight Show as first lady Wednesday night, and she couldn’t hold back her emotions while talking about the last eight years in the White House.
“I didn’t think it was going to be that emotional,” she told Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon. “It’s been surprisingly emotional for all of us in ways that we didn’t expect.
“When I think about the fact that some of them are afraid about what’s to come. I don’t want them to be afraid. I want them to embrace the future and know that the world is getting better,” she said. “We have bumps in the road, we have ups and downs. But I want our kids to move forward—I don’t care where they come from—with strength and with hope.”
As always, Obama took the high road when it came to the incoming family and said that she’s offered them her support.
“This democracy is not about party. We’re all trying to get things done,” she told Fallon. “We’re going to be supportive to the Trump administration for as much as we can be.”
The evening wasn’t all seriousness, and Obama and Fallon joked around as usual and even had a couple of surprise guests, including Dave Chappelle, Jerry Seinfeld and even Stevie Wonder, who serenaded the first lady with “Isn’t She Lovely” and “My Cherie Amour.”
The first lady also read “Thank-You Notes” she wrote to special people in her life, including those who helped her over the last eight years.
One special person received a lot of thanks, and that was Michelle Obama’s mother, who was dubbed “mom-in-chief.” Marian Robinson was a fixture in the White House and helped Barack and Michelle raise Sasha and Malia throughout his presidency. The first lady said that without her mother’s help, she wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anything.
Fallon also gave random people the surprise of their lives when he allowed them to record messages to the first lady. And when she popped up from behind a curtain, they went absolutely crazy:
Obama was Fallon’s first first lady who appeared on the show, and we doubt anyone will be able to top her brand of graciousness and sense of humor.